His Daughter
by Princessleia9977
Summary: A series of one-shots of our favorite fathers and their daughters in a galaxy far far away.
1. Chapter 1

_"_ _To lose a child is to lose a piece of yourself."_

 _-Dr. Burton Grebin_

Ruwee Naberrie walked slowly and solemnly through the graveyard, the bouquet of flowers weighing heavily in his arms and in his heart as he caught sight of his daughter's mausoleum.

The grass was fresh from the previous night's rain just as the carvings on his daughter's burial plaque were. There, displayed was her full name and date of birth as well as the date of her death, a day that would forever haunt Ruwee for the rest of his days.

She had been far too young to die. Only twenty-seven years old when her life had been stolen from her by those he did not know. There have been conflicting reports about the nature of her death as well as that of the life of her unborn child, some claiming it was the Jedi and others said it was newly formed Empire who was responsible.

But it doesn't matter, at least not anymore that is. She is still dead no matter who was truly responsible and something tells him that they will never know how or why.

He is too broken and tired to point fingers, he just simply wants to mourn the death of his daughter.

It had only been a week since they had received the devastating news from Polis Massa medical center that their beloved Padme had perished and that her body would be delivered to them for the funeral. Ruwee had been in denial, refusing to believe that his little girl was dead. It just wasn't possible, it couldn't be possible.

Reality had set in when Ruwee had seen her for himself. Lying in her watery casket with flowers in her hair and her hands clasping the gentle swell of her belly where her child would remain for eternity, never to take its first breath or feel the sun upon its cheeks.

She had looked so peaceful and beautiful with her babe, and that's what made it unbearable to Ruwee.

Death was not supposed to be beautiful. It was supposed to be awful and ugly, the terrible truth that haunted everyone until their time was up.

But he had never seen his daughter look so peaceful except maybe when she was up at the Lake Retreat, before her she had taken on the duty of Queen and Senator. It seemed like a lifetime ago that his daughter was truly a little girl, without responsibility and a care-free attitude.

She had grown up too fast and she had died even quicker.

Ruwee walked up the steps of the mausoleum, careful not to step on the mound of flowers that the people of Naboo had left for their former Queen and Senator. They had shown up in the thousands from all over the planet to pay their respects and to console the Naberrie family. He was certain that they would never get through the stack of letters that they had received from people who had loved and respected her.

He knew they meant well, but there came a point when he just wanted the time to grieve her without other people disturbing him with their condolences.

He just wanted to grieve for his daughter in peace and quiet, something that had become a rarity ever since her death had been broadcasted to the whole planet.

He had had barely any time to stop and process his emotions in the few days since the funeral. Not when there had been funeral planning and the family get together that always seemed to happen only when a family member died.

He had not seen this much of their family before in one house and he knew that he probably would not see them again after this until another family member passed away, which he hoped would not be for a long time.

A tragedy always seemed to bring the family together. Especially a tragedy such as this.

Ruwee wiped a stray tear away as he made his way into the darkly lit room where his daughter's coffin had been lain, the symbol of Naboo proudly displayed over the top. There were, even more, flowers that had been laid across the coffin along with letters, some were so old they were starting to wilt.

Ruwee placed the flowers over the stone slab before his hand came to rest on the cold surface, where a very fine layer of dust had already begun to form. It had only been a week and already the passage of time was quite obvious, much to his dismay.

It was already quite apparent in their home that she was gone, even more so than when she had been away on Coruscant because they knew that she would never be coming back.

Ruwee and Jobal had barely spoken since the funeral and he wasn't sure how he was supposed to comfort his wife when she had become so closed off to him. He had woken up in the middle of the night to find that his wife was no longer in bed with him, her spot in the bed cold and the sheets thrown back.

He had found her in Padme's bed sobbing into the pillows as she held a holo-picture of herself and their newborn daughter in her arms. Ruwee had been the one to take the picture, smiling proudly down at his tired wife and beautiful infant daughter. He could have never imagined then that this moment would ever come, that there would come a time when he could no longer hold his daughter in his arms.

She was gone forever, never to be held in his arms ever again.

He looked over at the far wall where her stain glass effigy was displayed, her brown eyes staring down at him sadly as though she could feel his pain.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered up at the effigy. "It was never supposed to be like this."

She said nothing.

 _The stillness spoke for her._


	2. Chapter 2

_"She was a shooting star,_

 _Her smile so bright and rare,_

 _That by the time you had blinked,_

 _There was no sign it had been there."_

 _-E.H._

Galen Erso's life was full of regrets. He had so many that he could not keep track of them anymore nor did he care too because none of them compared to the regret of having lost his daughter.

She had been his greatest love, and his greatest loss.

She was his Stardust, created by the stars that had existed millions of millions of years ago, her existence composed of cosmic fragments that were infinite. The cosmos and waited to create her so that he could have the chance to be her father, but he had lost her.

Like a shooting star, she had disappeared into the night sky and he had been left in her wake. He did not know her destiny or where the heavens had taken her, or whether or not he would ever see her again.

All he had were his memories that not even the Empire could take from him. They had taken everything else from him that was of infinite value, but they could not take his memories.

And no matter where Jyn was, dead or alive in the galaxy. She would forever live in his mind and heart and there was no way that he would ever let those precious memories burn out.

Every night he prayed to the cosmos that he could hold her in his arms just once more. To behold her face and look into her eyes and tell her how much he loved her and that he was sorry.

 _Sorry that her mother was dead._

 _Sorry that he had lost her._

 _Sorry that he was helping the Empire in their sick conquest._

 _Sorry that he had not been there._

 _Sorry that he could not change the past for the better._

"I'm so sorry, Stardust," he said under his breath as he closed his eyes.

Wherever she was in the cosmos, he hoped that she knew how much he loved her.

His love for her was infinite and would never end. It would remain until the universe collapsed and all the stars burned out until there was nothing.

And even then his love for her would remain.

"Galen?" came the voice of his fellow colleague as they stood in the doorway.

Galen blinked away a tear that had been threatening to fall and turned to face the fellow scientist, his face stoic and blank as he hid his pain.

"Yes?" he asked, his voice calm and flat.

"We just received a transmission from Director Krennic. His ship just came out of hyperdrive and he would like to speak to all of us as soon as he lands."

Either Orson had decided to simply visit him so that he could chat him up or he knew that that Imperial pilot had been dispatched from this very facility.

Galen hoped it was the former, but he could never be sure when it came to Orson, that bastard who liked to toy with him at every available opportunity.

Galen would have to put on a brave face and take his chances and hope that his sabotage of the Death Star remained secret and that Orson hadn't figured it out that he had given Bodhi Rook the message for Saw.

"Well then," he said as he stood up and smoothed his hand over his uniform, "who are we to keep him waiting?"

And with that he walked out onto the landing pad with his team, the rain pelting down on them mercilessly as he watched Orson's ship land.

He was, however, completely unaware that the cosmos had answered his prayer.

He would see his Stardust again.

 _But only for a moment._


	3. Chapter 3

_"_ _Tragedy is the difference between what is and what could have been."_

 _-Unknown_

Han Solo never had a daughter. But when he looks at Rey, he thinks of what could have been.

He can't help but admire her courage and her strength and he would be lying if he said she didn't remind him of Leia, and maybe that's why he's so fond of her. He doesn't know why he feels this way about some desert orphan who isn't even really his, but he can't help but be drawn to her in a way that is almost fatherly.

He thinks it's crazy seeing as he's only known her a short time, but he knows that there is a longing deep inside of him. He tries not to think about Ben, about how he failed his own child and allowed him to go down a path of darkness and destruction.

He blames Leia because the kid must've gotten it from Vader, but deep down he knows it's his fault too. So, he just doesn't think about it, or he tries not to.

But now, for the first time since he had last seen Ben, he feels a special bond between him and the girl. He can tell that she longs as well.

She longs to be loved and cherished. She longs for the comforting touch of a mother and the guidance of a father. She longs for a family.

And he longs for a child.

Han Solo knows that Rey isn't his daughter, but she's the closest thing he'll ever have.

And that's good enough for him.


End file.
